Okay--I'm going to act as though this isn't a troll post. If it is--fine, ya got me, but maybe this info would be helpful to someone real.
First, as far as Ivies and most(?) top LACs are concerned, being in the top 5% of your class is no particular help for admissions. I used to coach Ivy and we had multiple valedictorians rejected. You typically need a "hook" to be admitted: to be truly outstanding in a particular area. Given that you did not mention running in the OP, I'm going to assume that excellent race times are not your hook. I'm also assuming that you are not a member of an underrepresented minority group.
In other words: as you think about which colleges and universities to apply to, you also need to develop a realistic idea of which would meet your academic interests *and* present at least a decent chance for admission. If you have an active and knowledgeable guidance counselor, s/he could probably help you a lot more than we could.
Second IMO come assessments of political climates. I've been on all of the Ivy and UAA campuses and my general impression is that they have a wider spread of political views than you might find on, say, some NESCAC schools--but a visit to each of your target schools, and conversations with current students, would give you a much better idea of the atmosphere at individual campuses. My guess (again, speaking generally) is that the larger schools are likely to have a wider diversity of viewpoints.
As far as which campuses are more left, right, or center, I'll have to defer to folks who've been in college more recently.
Anyway, good luck!